Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure

by James Giles

Overview

How and why does sexual attraction happen? This book is an exploration of the universal yet highly individualized experience of being sexually attracted to another person.

Incorporating interviews, research findings, and excerpts from romantic and erotic literature, lyrics, and film, Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure explores a subject that is central to the human experience and highly relevant in not only personal, intimate interactions but also other relationships. Although the causes and effects of sexual attraction have been studied, sexual attraction itself-how we experience others in terms of their sexual attractiveness-remains a neglected, rarely researched topic.

James Giles presents jargon-free information that is accessible and fascinating to the general reader as well as highly useful and informative to students and researchers in social psychology, sexology, sex and marital therapy, and relationship counseling. The book explores subjects such as how sexual attraction is fundamentally different from other forms of interpersonal attraction and how at the heart of sexual attraction lies the experience of allure-something that makes one feel helplessly drawn toward an intimate physical joining with the sexually attractive person. The allure of strangers, cross-sex friends, sexual friends ("friends with benefits"), and romantic partners are all addressed, revealing the often subtle heterosexual attraction that typically exists between men and women in all their relationships, including between those who are ostensibly "just friends."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765123621
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/18/2024
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	813,510
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

James Giles, PhD, is a lecturer at the University of Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Preface
1. Interpersonal attraction and sexual attraction
Ways of being attracted to other people
Sexual attraction and physical appearance
Allure
The origins of allure

2. Exchanging glances
Types of strangers
The allure of strangers
Strangers in dreams

3. Just friends
Friendship
Cross-sex friendship
The allure of the cross-sex friend

4. More than just friends
Sexual friendship
The place of sex in sexual friendships
The allure of sexual friends

5. It turned out so right
The romantic relationship
Lovers and friends
The allure of romantic partners

6. With the help of helplessness

Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Heidi Reeder

"Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure provides an in-depth, comprehensive, and nuanced analysis of this distinct form of attraction. With thought-provoking insights on every page, James Giles answers questions about sexual attraction you didn’t know you had. Highly recommended reading for those who want a smart, articulate, and engaging investigation of the diverse body of sexual attraction research."

Elaine Hatfield

"This book is charming. Its author writes in a comfortable style that reminds you of a grand uncle, sitting in a leather chair, chatting about things that he has thought about for some time. The observations are laced with the latest social psychological evidence. The text is also one of a kind—very few scholars, surprisingly, have written so engagingly on the nature and varieties of sexual attraction."

Marty Klein

“At a time when the internet and mixed-gender workplaces put us in daily contact with more people than any other generation in human history, we need to understand attraction far more than we do. Giles' book is a welcome step in that direction. Part psychology, part philosophy, and part anthropology, the book refers to a wide range of research and is a thought-provoking, enjoyable read. Many books discuss desire or arousal, but this book discusses both—and in the context of attraction, a terrific approach.”

Robert Scott Stewart

"Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure is a wonderful follow-up to his previous, The Nature of Sexual Desire. Employing an engaging mix of philosophical, psychological, and literary analysis, James Giles will make you think deeply about this rarely explored phenomenon."

Terri L. Orbuch

“Ever wonder about sexual attraction and how it differs from other forms of attraction and sexual desire? Well, look no further. Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure, by James Giles (PhD), takes the reader on a fascinating journey to understand the personal, yet complex and multifaceted nature and experience of sexual attraction. The book is educational, illuminating, and colored with vivid quotes from interviews, as well as numerous examples from literature, music, internet videos, poetry, comics, relevant research citations, and historical data.”

Editorial Reviews

This book is charming. Its author writes in a comfortable style that reminds you of a grand uncle, sitting in a leather chair, chatting about things that he has thought about for some time. The observations are laced with the latest social psychological evidence. The text is also one of a kind-very few scholars, surprisingly, have written so engagingly on the nature and varieties of sexual attraction.” —Elaine Hatfield, Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii, USA

“Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure provides an in-depth, comprehensive, and nuanced analysis of this distinct form of attraction. With thought-provoking insights on every page, James Giles answers questions about sexual attraction you didn't know you had. Highly recommended reading for those who want a smart, articulate, and engaging investigation of the diverse body of sexual attraction research.” —Heidi Reeder, Associate Professor of Communication, Boise State University, USA

“Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure is a wonderful follow-up to his previous, The Nature of Sexual Desire. Employing an engaging mix of philosophical, psychological, and literary analysis, James Giles will make you think deeply about this rarely explored phenomenon.” —Robert Scott Stewart, Professor of Philosophy, Cape Breton University, Canada

“Ever wonder about sexual attraction and how it differs from other forms of attraction and sexual desire? Well, look no further. Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure by James Giles takes the reader on a fascinating jourbaney to understand the personal, yet complex and multifaceted nature and experience of sexual attraction. The book is educational, illuminating, and colored with vivid quotes from interviews, as well as numerous examples from literature, music, internet videos, poetry, comics, relevant research citations, and historical data.” —Terri L. Orbuch, Professor of Sociology, Oakland University, USA

“At a time when the internet and mixed-gender workplaces put us in daily contact with more people than any other generation in human history, we need to understand attraction far more than we do. Giles' book is a welcome step in that direction. Part psychology, part philosophy, and part anthropology, the book refers to a wide range of research and is a thought-provoking, enjoyable read. Many books discuss desire or arousal, but this book discusses both-and in the context of attraction, a terrific approach.” —Marty Klein, Certified Sex Therapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, USA

“James Giles's Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure makes a unique, interesting, and much-needed jourbaney into blending an existing body of social scientific research with humanistic ways of knowing that includes experiential, non-empirical qualitative methods as well as original philosophic inquiry and excerpts from film, literature, and music. The resulting volume provides many good considerations for those who do empirical sexuality and relationship research as well as insights into ideas that would be difficult-if not impossible-to explore through traditional research methods.” —Relationship Research News

“Overall, this short book is an easy read that should be of interest to most sexologists. It should be accessible to a wide nonexpert audience. The author offers several intriguing hypotheses about the nature of sexual attraction.” —PsycCRITIQUES

From the Publisher

"James Giles's Sexual Attraction: The Psychology of Allure makes a unique, interesting, and much-needed journey into blending an existing body of social scientific research with humanistic ways of knowing that includes experiential, non-empirical qualitative methods as well as original philosophic inquiry and excerpts from film, literature, and music. The resulting volume provides many good considerations for those who do empirical sexuality and relationship research as well as insights into ideas that would be difficult—if not impossible—to explore through traditional research methods."

Relationship Research News

"Overall, this short book is an easy read that should be of interest to most sexologists. It should be accessible to a wide nonexpert audience. The author offers several intriguing hypotheses about the nature of sexual attraction."

PsycCRITIQUES